Orthodontic Microimplants

This is a relatively new  technology, originally developed in Europe and Korea, and now widely accepted in North America.

Orthodontic microimplants are essentially miniature screws made of titanium. These microimplants are inserted through the gums in certain strategic locations in the mouth, with local anaesthesia. The microimplants give an orthodontist an opportunity to treat problems previously considered either very difficult or impossible. To the patient this often means having difficult overbite, underbite, open bite and crowding problems corrected with braces and microimplants without more risky and aggressive treatments such as jaw surgery or extraction of teeth.

Microimplants allow significant overbites to be corrected without the less desirable Headgear, or other more bulky and less comfortable orthodontic appliances.

At our office, we have successfully placed hundreds of microimplants often with remarkable and inspiring results.

The procedure of placing microimplants typically is surprisingly painless and innocuous, with only mild discomfort that lasts a day or so. Microimplants are without question the most noteworthy development in orthodontics in recent years, opening remarkable opportunities for our patients.

Potential risks associated with microimplants include:

• implants getting loose, and needing replacement (10-20% possibility)
• damage to tooth roots (extremely unlikely and none in our practice), or infections (very rare)